Sand, Sea and Wind

On a windy day in Swansea Bay, watching the movements of the top layer of dry sand getting blown across the seaweed and other debris on the beach is as entertaining as watching the sea itself.

The action of waves in the sea can be mesmerising, but so too can the patterns created by the wind on dry sand as it catches the various objects and undulations of the beach. The sculptures created can be fascinating but watching them be created is even more so.

The camera does not see in the same way as the eye but in these images I think there is some advantage to the relatively narrow depth of field. The areas of blur seem to me to emphasise the atmosphere and effect of the conditions at the time. The textures that show through in the areas of sharpness combined with soft foreground / background, feel much more like it physically was than if everything was clean and crisp and static.

I hope the second sound clip from this photo shoot helps to “put you in the picture”. Even my home made wind shield could not handle the strength of the wind on the beach, but I decided that the distortion and break up of the sound was all a part of the character of the scene.

High Winds in Swansea Bay

High Winds in Swansea Bay

High Winds in Swansea Bay

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Rattling the Leaves – Out and About in the Wind

The effects of the weather can be truly horrendous sometimes, but when it is not so destructive, it can be exhilarating! The high winds in Swansea Bay last week, brought those people out that enjoy that wildness, at least while it is doing no harm.

Perhaps the fact that it was windy but not raining made it enjoyable not just for the humans but also for the dogs which are allowed onto the beach at this time of year. I was there as well of course, taking the photos I am posting this week and also doing a bit of sound recording.

I only had my small Edirol RO9 recorder with me which meant the strength of the wind was a bit of a problem. However, with the use of my home made foam wind shield and the gain not to high, I was able to get a couple of clips that help to bring some extra atmosphere to the photos.

The first clip was taken on the promenade near the plant with the large leaves featured in the first photo. It is the sound of the leaves “rattling” against each other that can be heard, not the sound of rain!

High Winds in Swansea Bay

High Winds in Swansea Bay

High Winds in Swansea Bay

High Winds in Swansea Bay

You can use the new Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Moss Wood Walk” which is from Gnoll Park in Neath, South wales. Click the image below to watch the video.

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Somewhere in Between – Going Black and White

At first glance these images may appear to be black and white – but of course, there is colour in there, it’s just very subtle. The view looks across Swansea Bay and towards Mumbles Lighthouse in South Wales. The weather, being wild and windy with a lot of changing sunlight and shade, made the sea a range of greys and it was the intermittent clouds that created much of the contrast.

I debated whether or not to make them monotone and I tried it out as it seemed the obvious thing to do. I made the necessary adjustments as best I could to ensure they worked, and tried out some whackier filters and balances. However, in the end I found I prefer that subtlety of colour that is there if you look closely, and gives a different atmosphere to the images than was the case when converted to black and white.

I made small adjustments to all the images. They could all have been made much more dramatic but I guess I am a lover of nuance, and so decided to stick with what you see!

Swansea Bay

Black and white sea

View to Mumbles

High Winds in Swansea Bay-35

You can use the new Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Moss Wood Walk” which is from Gnoll Park in Neath, South wales. Click the image below to watch the video.

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Leaving a Mark

Swansea sea wall, like many others, takes the form of an inverted wave . . .

High Winds in Swansea Bay

You can use the new Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Moss Wood Walk” which is from Gnoll Park in Neath, South wales. Click the image below to watch the video.

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Footsteps in the Sand

Rhosilli Bay, at the end of the Gower Peninsula, is a great place to walk. The cliffs above the bay extend out to the Worm’s Head and can get busy on a weekend if the weather is good. The bay, however, like many of the large beaches on the South Wales coast, has the space to cope with a good number of visitors and not feel in the least crowded.

As with any beach, the patterns and textures in the sand change with different conditions and the shells, stones and rivulets underfoot create a range of sounds that all have the aural backdrop of the waves and the wind. The colourful rock of the cliffs (see yesterday’s post) reflect and amplify the sound of the sea but walking away from them allows the nuances of the crunch of tiny shells or the squish of soft wet sand to come through.

And above all that, the birds. Walking back up the cliff, even the smallest of birds can make themselves heard against the sound of the bay. You will need to watch the video at the end of this post to hear and see it all.

Coastal Walk Rhosilli-6

Coastal Walk Rhosilli-5

Rhosilli Rivulets

You can use the new Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video. Click the image below to watch the video.

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Sand and Wind – Public Art In Swansea Bay

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You could call these “sand sculptures”. That is surely what the wind on Swansea beach has been doing this week.

Nervous about the hazardous mixture of sand and cameras, the wind that blew those land surfers around on the beach the other day (see previous posts this week), didn’t stop me taking the risk and getting some low level shots of the public art work it was creating.

It is not in the same style as the work featured in yesterday’s post but over the years the wind and sand have blasted and changed those public art works in Swansea Maritime Quarter.

Swansea Sand

Swansea Sand

Swansea Sand

Swansea Sand

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IMG_8164

A Walk Through Marsh Grass and Across a Yellow Field

This post is pretty much just what it says on the tin!

Using the excellent RODE recording app for iPhone (though not their iPhone mic) I got, precisely, the sound of the wind in the marsh grass when out walking in the evening recently. I held the iPhone right in amongst the grasses which had the added advantage of muffling the sound of traffic on the motorway as well as stopping the rumble effect of the wind directly on the mic.

These field recordings on their own are not going to be for everyone but I enjoyed listening to the changing sounds of the grasses as the wind strength changed and find, as with the recording I do for StillWalks videos, that the sound does so much to help visualize the memory.

Marsh Grass

Marsh Grass

Yellow Field